OPINION:
Christianity Today, in an editorial calling for the ouster of President Donald Trump, sure has unleashed a firestorm.
Good. It’s good to see Christians getting in the political game. And so passionately so.
It’s good to see Christians fight back against Christianity Today’s Mark Galli and call out his ridiculous characterization of Trump as unfit for the presidency for what it is — ridiculous. Can you say David the adulterer? How about Moses the murderer? Saul-slash-Paul the Christian-hating persecutor? Or, more modern, Barack Obama the “if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” liar?
Surely, if God found room in His house for these men, there’s space for Trump the Twitter-er.
Christianity Today, post-editorial, reports its subscriptions are up. Meanwhile, there’s this, from Fox News: “Nearly 200 evangelical leaders condemned Christianity Today editorial on Trump.”
Among the condemners?
Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and of the international Christian relief organization, Samaritan’s Purse.
“Christianity Today released an editorial stating that President Trump should be removed from office — and they invoked my father’s name (I suppose to try to bring legitimacy to their statements),” Graham wrote on Facebook. “Yes, my father Billy Graham founded Christianity Today; but no, he would not agree with their opinion piece. In fact, he would be very disappointed.”
Why?
Well for one, Graham wrote, his father, Billy “knew Donald Trump,” “believed in Donald Trump” and — get this, CT-Galli — “voted for Donald Trump.”
So did a lot of others of Christian faith, and for a lot of different reasons.
Yet the media, the left, the secularists of the nation can’t let this story go. The anti-Trumpers of the nation see big political capital in a call from a so-called evangelical, in the midst of impeachment demands from the Democrats, to convict this president of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power and send him packing, in shame, from the White House. They see Galli as a shining knight, carrying the torch for the Christian Army against Trump.
It’s despicable, of course.
But there is a light that nonetheless shines bright.
It’s Christmas; it’s the time of year when Christians celebrate one of the faith’s biggest holidays — the birth of Jesus. And for the last few years, maybe even the last couple decades, Christmas in America has been marked more by shopping days than religious services; more by countdowns of conspicuous consumption than by somber, humble public professions of Jesus and rejoicing in Jesus.
But now Christianity is in the limelight. Christianity is crossing hard into politics.
Christianity is being pulled from its Sunday pews and talked about on Monday morning news shows — and Tuesday’s, and Wednesday’s, and Thursday’s, and the rest.
It may not be the most Christmas-y of messages — the debate over whether Christians should vote or not vote for Donald Trump. But it does put Jesus front and center. It does press Christians to bring their faith into politics. It does make clear that Christians are here and near and not going anywhere.
And on that, it’s about time.
Christians have been too quiet on the political front. Now, they’re taking over media cycles. Imagine that. God really does work in mysterious ways.
Just think: This clash of the faithful — this whole clashing over an editorial, this whole bickering over evangelicals and voting — might very well be the Christmas miracle that rouses Christians from slumber and drives them, en mass, into the political world. And you know what that means, don’t you?
A great awakening of America dawns.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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